Elena out of Amelia Island
6th April 2008
Elena has pulled out of Amelia Island with the back injury that started in Miami.

Elena is still on the list to play Charleston, let's hope Elena can begin her 2008 clay season campaign there.  Charleston will begin on April 14th, so Elena has 1 week to decide what to do.


Elena pulls out of Miami with a back injury
2nd April 2008
Elena has had to pull out of Miami with a back injury.  Elena was trailing #4 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 1-6 1-3 when she pulled out.  Elena said that the injury is new and thinks it's from playing on the hardcourts.

To read Elena's interview after the match click here.

There is a little bit of good news though, and that is Elena will be back in the top 10 when the new rankings are published on Monday.



Elena in Oriflame Catalogue
2nd April 2008
Elena is featured in the Russian Oriflame catalogue.  There are 9 different photos of Elena from modelling with a racquet to modelling the skincare range. 

Go to the photos section to see all of the photos.

Oriflame is a Swedish skincare and cosmetics company.


Elena into Miami Quarters
31st March 2008
Elena is through to the quarters in Miami after she defeated Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-3 6-2 in 1 hour and 8 minutes.

In Elena's 3rd quarter-final appearance of the year she will play #4 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.  They have played 5 times before and Elena trails the series 2-3 but the hardcourt head-to-head is 2-2.

This match will be played on Wednesday.



Elena battles into Miami last 16
30th March 2008
Elena is through to the 4th round in Miami after she defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-0 6-7 6-4.  After Elena took the opening set without dropping a game it started to rain and it was a completely different match and Elena fought and came through to advance to the 4th round.

In the 4th round to be played on Monday, Elena will play Sabine Lisicki of Germany who upset #5 seed Anna Chakvetadze, Elena has never played the German before.



Elena into Miami 3rd round
29th March 2008
Elena won her 1st match in Miami today as she advanced to the 3rd round.  Elena defeated Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine 6-0 6-4.

In the 3rd round to be played on Sunday, Elena will play Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, Elena has never played the teenage Slovak before.

Miami draw released
24th March 2008
The draw for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami has been released and Elena is the #10 seed and has a bye in the 1st round.  In the 2nd round she will play either Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine of Pauline Parmentier of France.  Elena has never played Parmentier before and played Bondarenko earlier this year in Paris and won in straight sets.  The 1st seed Elena can meet is #20 seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the 3rd round and is seeded to meet #5 seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the 4th round.

Miami is played on hardcourts and is a super tier 1 and Elena's best result here was reaching the final in 2004 and didn't play last year due to injury.

Elena pulls out of Indian Wells
5th March 2008
Elena has pulled out of Indian Wells which starts next week with a shoulder injury and she has said that she will be back in action at Miami which begins on March 24th.

Elena wins Dubai!
1st March 2008
Elena claimed her ninth WTA Tour singles title in Dubai, beating countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova in the night-time final, 4-6 6-3 -62.

Elena came out slowly versus world No.2 Kuznetsova in the final, dropping the first two games of the match and eventually the first set, but the fighting spirit that has helped her claw her way back so many times in the past rose from the ashes once again and she would concede only five more games the rest of the way, eventually notching the three set championship victory over her fellow Russian.

"I think I was playing wrong tactically in the first set; I was hitting the ball too short," Elena said. "I realized I had to move her around more and not just stay back and hit crosscourt, and I had to step in more and go for my forehand winners. I became more aggressive and it worked. It was a great match and I was playing really well, probably my best match in a long time."

"The whole week I had such a bad draw; this tournament is really popular and so everyone had it like that, but I'm just happy I was able to play my best at the end of the week," Elena said. "In the past I was playing Paris and Antwerp and so I didn't make it here, but I heard so many good things about it from the other players and I came this year. And I have no regrets!"

Elena into Dubai Final!
29th February 2008
Elena is through to her 1st final of 2008 as she defeated unseeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 5-7 7-5 6-2 to reach the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.  It was Elena's 2nd consecutive 3 set battle in a match that lasted nearly 3 hours.

In the final to be played on Saturday, Elena will play #2 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.  They have played 8 times before and Elena trails the series 3-5.



Elena defeats Ivanovic in Dubai to reach the semis!
28th February 2008
Elena has kept her unbeaten run against #3 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia intact today as she reached the semis in Dubai.  Elena defeated the world #2 5-7 6-3 6-3 in 2 and a half hours in a match the finished way after midnight.

In the Elena's 2nd semi-final appearance of the year, she will face unseeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy.  They have played 7 times before and Elena trails 3-4.  This match will be played at 19.00 local time on Friday.



Elena breezes through to Dubai Quarters
27th February 2008
Elena is through to the quarters in Dubai after she defeated Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine 6-2 6-1 in under an hour to score her 2nd straight set win in Dubai

In the quarters to be played on Thursday, Elena will play #3 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.  Elena has played Ivanovic 3 times before in WTA competition and leads the series 2-0 having won their last meeting on grass in 2006.



Elena defeats Schnyder in Dubai
25th February 2008
Elena has played her 1st match in Dubai today as she defeated Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.  Elena won 7-5 6-0 in 1 hour and 21 minutes.  Elena now leads the series 8-7 with Schnyder

In the 2nd round to be played on Wednesday, Elena will play Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine, they have played twice before and Elena leads the series 2-0.


Dubai draw released
23rd February 2008
The draw for the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships has been released and Elena is the #8 seed and will face Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the 1st round.  They have played 14 times before and the series is tied 7-7.  If Elena wins that match she will play either Alona Bondarenko or Maria Kirilenko.  The 1st seed Elena can meet is #3 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the quarters whom Elena has never lost to.

Elena will be making her debut in Dubai this week.  Dubai is a tier 2 and played on hardcourts and has to be one of the strongest WTA events as Elena is playing a player ranked 12 in the 1st round, just one spot below her ranking.




Elena out of Paris
9th February 2008
Elena is out of Paris after she lost 3-6 6-1 5-7 to #7 seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary in the semis.

Elena will now go back to Moscow for 1 week to prepare for the Middle East double.  Elena will play Doha which begins on February 18th and Dubai the week after.


Elena into Paris last 4
8th February 2008
Elena is through to the semis in Paris after she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine 7-5 6-2 in 1 hour and 16 minutes.  This is Elena's 1st semi of 2008.

In the semis to be played on Saturday, Elena will play #7 seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary, they have never played before.


Elena to play Bondarenko in Paris Quarters
7th February 2008
Elena will play one of the Bondarenko sisters in the quarters in Paris.  Elena will play Kateryna whom she has never played before.

This match is the 2nd match Central Court and the schedule of play begins at 14.00 Paris time.

 

Elena into Paris Quarters
6th February 2008
Elena is through to the quarters in Paris after she defeated #152 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6 6-2. 

A tough 1st set for Elena which she eventually won 9-7 in the tie-break but showed her greater experience in the 2nd set as she took it 6-2.

In the quarters to be played on Friday Elena will play a Ukrainian -  either Kateryna Bondarenko or Yuliana Fedak.

 

Paris Schedule
5th February 2008
Elena will play her 1st match at the Open Gaz de France in Paris on Wednesday evening at 19.00CET against #152 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.  Elena has never played the Czech player before.

4 photos of Elena at the WTA All Access  have been added.  Click on photos in the main menu to see them.



Paris draw released
3rd February 2008
The draw for the Open Gaz de France in Paris, France has been released and Elena is the #4 seed and has a bye in the 1st round.  In the 2nd round Elena will face either Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain or a qualifier.  The 1st seed Elena can meet is #5 seed Nadia Petrova in the quarters.

Paris is played indoors and is a tier 2 event.  Elena has played here 6 times before and her best result was reaching the semis in 2003.  Elena didn't play here last year.

New Whirlpool Ad
21st January 2008
Elena is featured in a brand new ad for Whirlpool.  Click on the photo opposite to see it bigger.

Elena, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Amelie Mauresmo and Anna Chakvetadze are all in pictured modelling in a sauna.




Elena's Aussie dream over
20th January 2008
Elena's Australian Open dream is over as she lost 2-6 0-6 to #5 seed Maria Sharapova of Russia in 62 minutes. 

Unfortunately Elena ran into a player who was on fire today.



Elena into Australian Open last 16
17th January 2008
Elena is through to the 4th round at the Australian Open after she defeated #17 seed Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2 6-0. 

Elena will play either #5 seed Maria Sharapova of Russia in the 4th round.  Elena has played Sharapova 9 times before and trails the series 2-7.  This match will be played on Sunday.


Elena through to 3rd round in Melbourne
16th January 2008
Elena had a bit of a scare at the Australian Open as she dropped the 1st set but she came through by defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 5-7 6-2 6-3 in 2 hours and 29 minutes.

In the 3rd round to be played on Thursday, Elena will play #17 seed Shahar Peer of Israel.  They have played 3 times before and Elena leads the series 2-1.


Elena wins 1st match at the Australian Open
14th January 2008
Elena is through to the 2nd round at the Australian Open after she had a comfortable win over Tzipora Obziler of Israel 6-2 6-2.  Elena won the match in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

In the 2nd round to be played on Tuesday, Elena will face Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.  Elena has played the Spaniard twice before and the series is tied 1-1, the last meeting was at New Haven in 2005 which Medina Garrigues won in straight sets.



Australian Open draw released
10th January 2008
The draw for the 1st Grand Slam of the year at the Australian Open in Melbourne has been released and Elena is seeded 11 and will face Tzipora Obziler of Israel in the 1st round.  Elena has never played the Israeli before.  The 1st seed Elena can meet is Shahar Peer of Israel in the 3rd round and Elena is seeded to meet last year's finalist Maria Sharapova of Russia in the 4th round.  Elena will play her 1st match on either Monday or Tuesday.

Elena has reached the 4th round here 4 times: 2002, 2005 and 2007.  This is the Grand Slam were Elena hasn't had the best results.

Elena in shock Sydney loss
7th January 2008
Elena's Australian Open preparation didn't go to plan today in Sydney as she was upset in the 1st round. 

Elena lost 1-6 5-7 to qualifier Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.

The Australian Open begins on January 14th.

Sydney draw released
5th January 2008
The draw for the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia has been released and Elena is the #8 seed and will play a qualifier in the 1st round.  Elena is seeded to meet top seed Justine Henin of Belgium in the quarters.

Last year Elena lost in the 2nd round to Na Li of China and her best result here was reaching the semis in 2005.

Elena loses Hong Kong doubles final
5th January 2008
Elena and Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal lost the doubles final in the exhibition in Hong Kong today to Venus Williams of the United States and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark by the score of 4-6 4-6.

Elena defeated in Hong Kong Semis
4th January 2008
Elena has been knocked out of the exhibition in Hong Kong.  Elena lost 3-6 3-6 to #4 seed Venus Williams of the United States.

Elena is still in the doubles event here and will play the final with Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal and they will play Williams and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Saturday.



Elena defeats Ivanovic in Hong Kong
3rd January 2008
Elena won her 1st match of 2008 as she defeated world #4 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia to maintain her unbeaten record against the Serb. 

In the semis to be played tomorrow, Elena will play #3 seed Venus Williams of the United States, Elena played Williams here in the final 3 years ago and won that encounter.


Hong Kong Preview
1st January 2008
Elena will play her 1st tournament of 2008 at an exhibition in Hong Kong.  8 players are entered and in the 1st round Elena will play Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.  Elena is also entered in the doubles and partners Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal and they play Ivanovic and Shuai Peng of China. 

Elena will play the doubles match on Wednesday and the singles match on Thursday.

Elena's new wax figure of herself showcased today in Moscow
30th October 2007
There is an exhibition in Moscow titled 'Tennis and Art' which is sponsored by one of Elena's sponsor's Beeline and Elena was there today and unveiled a new wax figure of herself.

What do you think?  Do you think it looks like Elena?

Check out all the photos of Elena in the gallery by clicking here.



2007 over for Elena
17th October 2007
Elena is out of Zurich after she had to retire with an injured left thigh.  Italian Francesca Schiavone was leading 6-4 1-6 2-4 when Elena had to retire.

The withdrawal ended the Elena 's hopes of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrrid.

Elena had this to say after the match: "Obviously I'm very disappointed about the result of the match and disappointed also that I couldn't have made it to Madrid.  But I'm still very happy about the tournament last week."

This is Elena's last tournament of the year and will be back in action in January.

Zurich preview
15th October 2007
After winning Moscow, Elena will head to Zurich to play the Zurich Open in Switzerland.  Elena is unseeded and will play Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the 1st round.  They have played 3 times before and the series is tied 3-3.  If Elena gets through that match she will play either Serena Williams or Patty Schnyder.

Elena's best result here was reaching the semis in 2004 and last year she lost her 1st match to Srebotnik.

Elena wins Moscow!
14th October 2007
Elena has won the biggest and most important title of her career as she defeated #4 seed Serena Williams of the United States in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.  Elena won 5-7 6-1 6-1 in 1 hour and 47 minutes to take the 8th title of her career and the 2nd title of the year.

This is 3rd time lucky for Elena in the Moscow final and she is also the 3rd Russian woman behind Anastasia Myskina and Anna Chakvetadze to take the home title.

Elena now has an outside shot of qualifying for the WTA Tour Championships in Madrid - Elena has been the only player to qualify for each Championships since 2000.  Elena will also return to the top 10 when the new rankings are released.  Elena gained 430 points here and is #10 with 2022 points.

Elena into Moscow Final!
13th October 2007
Elena is through to the biggest final of the year for her today as she destroyed Dinara Safina of Russia 6-1 6-0 in 1 hour and 9 minutes.  This is Elena's 3rd appearance in the final in Moscow in what is one of Elena's most important events of the year.  Hopefully she will be 3rd time lucky here.

In the final Elena will play #4 seed Serena Williams of the United States, they have played 4 times and Williams has won each match in straight sets but this will be a very different occasion in Elena's hometown.



Elena into Moscow Semis
12th October 2007
Elena is through to the semis in Moscow after she defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-6 6-2 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

In the semis to be played on Saturday, Elena will Dinara Safina of Russia.  Elena has played Safina 3 times before and trails the series 1-2, they have never played before indoors.


Elena into Moscow Quarters
10th October 2007
Elena is through to the quarters in Moscow after she defeated #7 seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3 6-4.

In the quarters to be played on Friday, Elena will play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus who upset #2 seed Maria Sharapova of Russia.  Elena has never played Azarenka before.

Elena wins 1st match in Moscow
9th October 2007
Elena is through to the 2nd round in Moscow after she defeated qualifier Alica Molik of Australia.  Molik put up a strong challenge as Elena won 6-2 4-6 6-3 in 2 hours and 23 minutes.

In the 2nd round Elena will play #7 seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.  Elena has played Schnyder 13 times before and trails the series 6-7 but won here last year in the quarters against Schnyder in 2 very tight sets.




Moscow draw released
6th October 2007
The draw for the Kremlin Cup in Moscow has been released and Elena is unseeded and will play a qualifier in the 1st round.  If Elena can get through that hurdle she will play either #7 seed Patty Schnyder or Emilie Loit.

For Elena this tournament is the highlight of the year and she has reached the final in 2001 and 2004.  Last year Elena reached the semis losing to eventual champion Anna Chakvetadze.



Elena out of Stuttgart
5th October 2007
Elena is out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart after she lost 4-6 4-6 to top seed Justine Henin of Belgium in the quarters.

Elena has had a good tournament this week defeating Mauresmo and Hantuchova and pushing Henin in both sets today.  Elena will next head to her home tournament of Moscow which begins on Monday.



Elena into Stuttgart Quarters
4th October 2007
Elena is through to the quarters in Stuttgart after she defeated #8 seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

In the quarters to be played on Friday, Elena will face top seed Justine Henin of Belgium.  Elena has played the Belgian 10 times before and trails the series 2-7, but she did win the last meeting at Indian Wells in March last year.


Elena defeats Mauresmo in Stuttgart
2nd October 2007
It was a tough 1st round for Elena in Stuttgart, but she came through with flying colours today as she defeated Amelie Mauresmo of France.  Elena won 6-2 7-5 in 1 hour and 26 minutes.

The draw doesn't get any easier as she will play #8 seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Elena has played Hantuchova 11 times before and leads the series 8-3, the last meeting was in Los Angeles in August when Hantuchova had to pull out injured while Elena was leading 6-3 4-1.

Stuttgart draw released
30th September 2007
The draw for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany has been released and Elena is unseeded and will play Amelie Mauresmo of France in the 1st round.  Mauresmo is also unseeded and Elena has played Mauresmo 13 times before and trails the series 3-8, most of the meetings were in the later stages of tournaments but due to the strong draw here both players are unseeded.

Last year Elena reached the quarters and her best result here was reaching the semis in 2002 and 2005.

Elena out of Beijing
20th September 2007
Elena is out of Beijing after she lost 6-7 1-6 to Lindsay Davenport of the United States who is playing only her 2nd tournament after having a baby. 

It was a very close set which could have gone either way but Davenport raised her level in the 2nd set.  Elena didn't help her cause serving 12 double-faults during the match.

Elena sets up Davenport meeting in Beijing
20th September 2007
Elena is comfortably through to the quarters in Beijing after she defeated Tamira Paszek of Austria6-2 6-0.

In the quarters Elena will play Lindsay Davenport of the United States who is playing only her 2nd tournament after having a baby.  Davenport leads the series 10-5 but Elena won the last match at the US Open 2 years ago in a thrilling 3 set battle.  This match will begin at 12.30 Beijing time.

Elena to play Paszek in Beijing
19th September 2007
Elena will begin her Beijing campaign on Thursday against teenager Tamira Paszek of Austria in the 2nd round.  The match is the 2nd match of the day and the schedule begins at 12.30.  They have played once before at Wimbledon this year which Paszek won in 3 sets.

Check out all the Elena photos in the gallery!



Beijing draw released
15th September 2007
The draw for the China Open in Beijing has been released and Elena is the #4 seed and has a bye in the 1st round.  In the 2nd round Elena will play either Tamira Paszek of Austria of Jill Craybas of the United States.

The 1st seed Elena can meet is #8 seed Eleni Danillidou of Greece but there is a very strong chance that it could be Lindsay Davenport of the United States.  Elena is placed in the bottom half of the draw on #2 seed Jelena Jankovic's half.

Elena was the champion here in 2003 when the event was held in Shanghai but hasn't played here since.  That was the only year that Elena played this event.





Elena out of US Open
31st August 2007
In one of the biggest upsets in the tournament so far, Elena has been defeated by Sybille Bammer of Austria.  Elena lost 1-6 2-6 in 1 hour and 22 minutes.  This is Elena's 2nd straight loss in a Grand Slam to an Austrian player - Elena lost in the 3rd round at Wimbledon to Tamira Paszek.

Elena into last 32 at the US Open
29th August 2007
Elena is through to the 3rd round at the US Open after she defeated Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-3 6-2. 

In the 3rd round to be played on Friday, Elena will play #19 seed Sybille Bammer of Austria.  Elena has played Bammer once before in a challenger on clay in 1998 and won in 3 sets.


Elena starts US Open campaign with a win
27th August 2007
Elena has won her 1st match at the US Open today as she defeated Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France 6-4 6-3 in 1 hour and 19 minutes. 

In the next round Elena will play Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, Elena has never played her before.



Elena retires in New Haven against Kuznetsova
24th August 2007
Elena had to pull out of her semi-final match in New Haven today against top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.  Kuznetsova was leading 6-4 3-6 0-3 when Elena retired with some kind of illness.  Elena played a good first set but slowly the match started to turn in Kuznetsova's favour in hot conditions.  Hopefully this was just a precaution as the US Open is starting on Monday.

Elena defeats Bartoli in New Haven
23rd August 2007
Elena is through to the semis in New Haven after she upset #3 seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-4 6-2 in 1 hour and 29 minutes.  This is Elena's 2nd straight win over Bartoli on hardcourts since Bartoli reached the Wimbledon final in July. 

In the semis to be played tomorrow Elena will play top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.  Elena has played Kuznetsova 7 times before and trails the series 3-4.  The last meeting was at the WTA Championships last year which Elena lost in 3 sets and they played here in the quarters last year which Elena also lost in 3 sets.



Elena through to New Haven quarters
22nd August 2007
Elena is through to the quarters  in New Haven after she defeated Ashley Harkleroad of the United States 6-1 7-6 in 1 hour and 46 minutes.  In the quarters to be played tomorrow, Elena will play #3 seed Marion Bartoli of France, they have played 5 times before and Elena leads the series 3-2 and won the last meeting in San Diego only a few weeks ago.



US Open draw released
22nd August 2007
The draw for the 4th and final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open has been released and Elena is the #14 seed and will play Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France in the 1st round.  They have played 3 times before and Elena has won each match.  Elena is seeded to meet #3 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the 4th round.

Last year Elena lost in the quarters to Jankovic and of course Elena's best result here was reaching the final in 2004.